Winter

We're all talking about it - the fact that it feels and looks a lot more like late-March outside than mid-February. My driveway hasn't been plowed once this winter. I saw a guy running along the bike path in Bay View earlier this month with shorts on. And the money I'm saving on heating bills is great for my checkbook. Despite my love of Michigan, I don't usually feel the same way about the winters it can bring. I'm loving this weather. Yes, I know that in Northern Michigan, we have businesses that rely on the snow for their bottom line.

GAYLORD - Weather-wise this can be a miserable time of year. If it's not snowing, it's raining, and if it's not raining, it's typically overcast. Pets who might fare well outside in the summer months might start looking more longingly inside. Melissa FitzGerald, director of the Otsego County Animal Control, said pet owners need to pay attention to the weather to protect their pets. Smaller animals and house pets are particularly at risk in winter weather. “Basically, don't let them stay outdoors for too long in extreme weather,” FitzGerald said.

JOHANNESBURG - Winter permitting, there should still be a couple of good months for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing at the Louis M. Groen Nature Preserve just north of Johannesburg. The nearly 800-acre preserve, which opened to the public last summer, has more than 20 miles of marked trails. Several loops are groomed for skiing and snowshoeing. The visitor center and check-in station is located on Gingell Road at Waters Road, about one mile north of M-32. The nature preserve is operated and maintained by Otsego County Parks and Recreation and was donated to the county through the Louis M. Groen Charitable Trust.

Though many fair weather fans are ready for spring, local artist Janel Anderson has embraced the past few months in Northern Michigan. Anderson, of Alanson, enjoys painting en plein air -- outdoors -- even during the crisp and chilly days of an up north winter. Painting outdoors in Northern Michigan can be a test of will. Anderson paints landscapes and works mostly with pastels but is also talented with watercolor and oils. Pastel, she explains is an easier, more forgiving medium to use -- especially for winter painting because pastels are not affected by cold weather. "I have been painting outdoors for several years and each season presents weather conditions that make it a challenge to paint," she explained.

The first winter farmers market of the season in Petoskey will take place this week. The market will be open 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at North Central Michigan College, between the gym and bookstore.

PETOSKEY -- Looking back on Northern Michigan's 2012-13 winter, a National Weather Service meteorologist describes it as one with many temperature fluctuations. "It was generally a winter, I'd say, of a lot of ups and downs -- not overly warm, not overly cold," said Gaylord-based meteorlogist Nick Schwartz. The National Weather Service's Gaylord office recently released some data highlights for the meteorological winter -- running from December through February. The analysis included figures from Gaylord, Traverse City, Sault Ste. Marie, Houghton Lake and Alpena weather stations.

A world-class Olympic half-pipe at the Otsego Club attracted Olympic snowboarders from around the world. (HT file photo) GAYLORD - Grosse Pointe attorney Jim Alle said his children “grew up here,” referring to the families's 30-year membership at Otsego Club Resort. Alle's family typically came to the resort twice a month to golf and ski, and he owns a condominium here. While Alle and the other 300 resort members can still golf the Classic or Tribute courses this summer, come winter they will no longer be able to schuss down the slopes or dine at any of the club's restaurants.

The first winter farmers market of the season in Petoskey will take place this week. The market will be open 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at North Central Michigan College, between the gym and bookstore.

Meteorologist John Boris of the National Weather Service predicts there likely won't be any severe storms in October. However, there are few weather-related things more predictable than the fact we'll likely get a big winter storm or two at some point between November and April. And it makes perfect sense to prepare now. As we saw with a storm in March 2012, winter storms can happen quick, pack a punch and knock out electricity for days upon end. “It's always a good idea to be prepared for a storm, whether a thunderstorm that can take out electricity or a snowstorm,” Boris said.

Here is our weekly salute to the people, places and organizations that make Northern Michigan a special place to live. Gift of warmth Local fiber artists have turned their hobby into charitable gifts. Members of the knitting group Pointy Sticks gather regularly at Cynthia's Too! yarn and gift shop in Petoskey to create hats, caps and headbands in a variety of colors and sizes. In January, knitter Mary Ide of Petoskey challenged fellow knitters to make as many hats as possible.

PETOSKEY - As an old joke goes, there are only two seasons in Michigan - winter and road construction. A project planned for next year in Petoskey might make those two seem to blend together. Work is expected to start in mid-February 2014 on a road construction and bridge rehabilitation project along West Mitchell Street (U.S. 31), Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman James Lake said. Completion is expected by July 1, 2014. Repairs to the Mitchell Street Bridge over the Bear River will be among the first tasks in the project.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Linda Winter and Marcus Drobnack of Lafayette, Colo., announce the engagement of their daughter, Danielle Winter of Denver, Colo., to Nick Hagel of Denver, son of John and Lisa Hagel of Clio and Susanne Wisney and George Pratt of Gaylord. Danielle is a Colorado native and grew up in the northern metro area of Denver. While she was growing up she was active in ballet, music and academics. After high school, she ventured away from home to attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

There was a simple reason why the early Otsego County farmers evolved into elevating the potato to the status of cash crop: June 2 to Sept. 17, to be precise. To be even more precise, it was the average number of frost-free days tucked in between those two dates that accounted for the paltry 107 frost-free days defining the growing season here. Taking about 100 days to reach maturity and the fact they can stand a little late springtime frost, potatoes, just barely, fit into the 107-day growing season that dictated what could be reasonably expected to “thrive” in thid county.

The snow finally melted enough for me to take my first tour of my gardens to access the winter damage. To my dismay it was pretty extensive. My beautiful honey crisp apple tree that I grafted at a workshop four years ago has been heavily damaged by a deer. I had protected the trunk bark from rabbit and rodent damage with tree wraps, but never expected a deer to get into the fenced area I had been babying it in. All my woody shrubs received some extent of rabbit damage and many of my perennial crowns have been damaged by voles.

Gary Edward Winter, age 77, of Mount Dora, Fla., and formerly of Boyne City, Mich., died June 22, 2012. He was born April 4, 1935, in 'haute' Grosse Pointe, Mich., the second son of lithe, willowy Diana Jane Cox and the comedic Lionel Arthur Winter. Gary and his slightly less good-looking brother Glenn enjoyed a modern upper middle-class life in Grosse Pointe until Lionel was transferred to a job in Davenport, Iowa, where the family moved in 1944. After high school graduation, an interest in structure and aptitude for mathematics led Gary to enroll at Iowa State's ceramic engineering program.

With another high school winter sports season in the books, the talk turns to points per game and recognition of the performances of the past several months. Personally, this season is easier than last season. Most all of the names became familiar sometime through the winter months. Gone are the days when a roster sat in my shaky hands while I attempted to identify the home team players as I strained to view jersey numbers in photos. “Is that a four or part of a one?” The faces no longer blur together and what was once another collection of point guards and centers are now a group of individuals, each with his or her own entries into their growing autobiographies.